Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 177 Get Out

Chen Ye has always had a lot of experience in how to achieve the best results with the least amount of spiritual energy.

After all, poor people can't ask for too much; life would be hard if they weren't frugal.

When Su Chun first saw Chen Ye set up the Spirit Gathering Array, she thought the array was extremely effective, even though it was all made out of poverty.

The simplest way to blow a wooden ball up is to create a strong wind instantly, which will make the wooden ball fly away.

This method conserves spiritual energy the most, but the restrictions on the tray not only limit the total amount of spiritual energy but also the amount of spiritual energy that can flow in instantly. The two are tightly controlled to prevent this move.

Chen Ye just used a whirlwind-like wind pressure to barely lift the wooden ball.

Three feet was already the limit, and Chen Ye couldn't think of a way to exceed that height for the time being.

The first place winner is only 3 feet 3 inches tall, which is clearly a different approach.

As Chen Ye was pondering this, he suddenly heard an annoying voice.

"So you've come here, kid! Come on, let's have another bet!"

Chen Ye turned around and saw that it was Yu Xing from the Mirage Sect.

That kid is like a persistent ghost.

Chen Ye said somewhat impatiently, "Fellow Daoist, don't you think you're being a bit too aggressive?"

Yu Xing retorted, "How am I being aggressive? You defeated my Mirage Sect and lost face, but you won't allow others to get it back?"

Chen Ye was speechless; it seemed that this person only had himself on his mind.

Chen Ye was too lazy to argue with this person, so he simply said, "Okay, what do you want to bet on?"

"Let's bet on this."

Yu Xing pointed to the wooden ball puzzle in front of him and said confidently, "I won't take advantage of you. Since you came first, you must have been studying it for a long time. From now on, whoever can solve this puzzle will win."

Chen Ye has now confirmed that "not taking advantage of you" is indeed a common saying of the Mirage School.

But this person didn't even read the riddle, yet he immediately started a bet, and no one knew what he was talking about.

Winning or losing doesn't matter, as long as this person is dealt with, that's enough. Chen Ye readily agreed: "Okay, we'll do as you say. Regardless of winning or losing, after this, we'll have nothing to do with each other anymore."

Yu Xing was full of confidence, but after looking at the riddle for a while, he realized something was wrong and began to frown.

Chen Ye calmed down and threw himself back into his research.

However, no matter how you calculate it, the wind force designed in the previous version has already reached its limit and cannot exceed three feet in height.

Unless, of course, it wasn't the wind that lifted the wooden ball.

"Will it damage the wooden ball?"

"Broken also counts?"

Chen Ye and Yu Xing asked the Yunlu Immortal Sect disciple questions at almost the same time.

The disciple from the Yunlu Immortal Sect paused for a moment, then said, "Calculate the height based on the highest point, even if the wooden ball is damaged."

Upon hearing this, Yu Xing immediately said smugly, "Then I'm sure to win."

Without a second thought, Yu Xing grabbed a tray and began drawing the array diagram. Chen Ye glanced at it; the man's technique was exquisite, and his movements inscribing the array were extremely fluid. It seemed that he wasn't just arrogant; he genuinely possessed some skill.

Chen Ye didn't hold back either, and began to inscribe his own formation.

In the end, the two finished almost simultaneously, but Yu Xing was a little faster than Chen Ye, and first handed the tray to the Yunlu Immortal Sect disciple.

Yu Xing looked at Chen Ye smugly, as if victory was already in his grasp.

Chen Ye wasn't in a hurry; he wanted to see what this person was capable of first.

After the tray was inspected, the wooden ball was placed on it to begin the test.

As the formation was activated, a wind blade as thin as a hair appeared, cutting a sliver of wood off the wooden ball. Then, a whirlwind blew by, carrying the weightless wood sliver upwards.

In the blink of an eye, the wood chips flew higher than three feet, four feet, five feet, and finally eight feet before falling. It wasn't that the spiritual energy was exhausted, but rather that the distance was too great, and the whirlwind condensed by the array on the tray couldn't travel that far.

The disciples of Yunlu Immortal Sect couldn't help but applaud and praise, "Amazing! Congratulations on winning first place, fellow Daoist!"

Chen Ye was also very surprised. The wood chips cut by the wind blades were even smaller than a hair. If cultivators were not people with keen senses, they would probably find it difficult to see them.

This incredibly precise wind blade is the ultimate test of formation tactics.

Yu Xing looked at Chen Ye smugly and asked, "Is it still not too late to admit defeat now?"

Chen Ye asked in confusion, "What's the difference now that I'm admitting defeat?"

“Uh…” Yu Xing’s face stiffened, and he couldn’t speak for a long time.

Chen Ye couldn't help but laugh out loud, presenting his tray with both hands and saying to Yu Xing, "It's not too late for you to admit defeat now!" Yu Xing glared at him and said confidently, "I don't believe you can be stronger than me, and you just said it yourself, what difference does admitting defeat make now?"

Chen Ye laughed and said, "Yes, if you admit defeat now, you can comfort yourself by thinking that you are evenly matched with me and only slightly inferior. But once my formation is activated, you will find that you have lost completely."

Yu Xing's face turned red. He wondered why he hadn't thought of that sentence earlier, but he still felt that Chen Ye was bluffing.

No one could possibly be more precise with their wind blades; eight feet is the limit.

Chen Ye stopped speaking and waited for the disciples of Yunlu Immortal Sect to activate his formation.

As the runes on the tray lit up little by little, no wind blades gathered around the wooden ball. Just as everyone was wondering what was going on, a spark appeared and the wooden ball was instantly ignited.

The flames crackled and popped as the wooden ball burned, and a plume of black smoke billowed from it, drifting upwards into the sky.

"This……"

The disciples of Yunlu Immortal Sect were dumbfounded. The black smoke rose straight up, reaching more than eight feet high, almost ten feet.

Yu Xing said angrily, "How can this be considered?"

Chen Ye did not refute, but asked the disciple of Yunlu Immortal Sect, "The rules were set by Yunlu Immortal Sect, so of course Yunlu Immortal Sect has the final say."

The Yunlu Immortal Sect disciple pondered for a moment, then said to Chen Ye, "Please wait a moment, fellow Daoist, I need to go and consult with someone."

It's understandable to cut wood chips and blow them into the air, but once they're burned to ashes, are they still considered part of the wooden ball?
Chen Ye nodded and said, "It is only right. However, since this Fellow Daoist Yu has also passed the test, could you please reveal the array diagram of the previous first place winner?"

Both Yu Xing and Chen Ye's formations actually exploited loopholes. When these two formations were revealed, others would only think, "Oh, so that's how it works," rather than learn anything from them.

If Yu Xing hadn't been so aggressive, Chen Ye really wouldn't have wanted to resort to such underhanded tactics.

But since we've already found a loophole, we might as well take a look at other people's formations; maybe we can learn something from them.

The disciple of Yunlu Immortal Sect hurriedly took out a formation diagram and hung it up. It was the formation of the previous winner. Then he hurriedly left to invite other cultivators from Yunlu Immortal Sect to judge the winner.

Chen Ye took the opportunity to study the array diagram, and upon seeing it, he couldn't help but laugh.

The first place winner used a similar method, only this time it used wood elemental energy.

The formation activated the wooden ball, causing it to take root and sprout, eventually growing into a sapling three feet and three inches tall.

Although it was also a case of exploiting a loophole, Chen Ye still found the formation quite interesting. It could sprout saplings with such a small amount of spiritual energy, which meant that the cultivator must have a lot of experience in planting trees.

When Chen Ye saw the name the person had left behind, he was stunned.

Li Fan? Could it be a coincidence of names? Isn't that the dull-witted little cultivator I met when I first entered the valley?

The probability of having the same name is very low. There are not many cultivators in Hundred Seas Valley, and very few cultivators would choose such a common name.

This kid is really talented. Chen Ye now wants to find out if he has a sect. If not, he'll just send him to the Yellow Springs Sect.

A short while later, Yu Shenxing was invited over.

He glanced at the wooden ball that had been burned to ashes, then looked at Chen Ye and asked, "Brother, this is truly a brilliant idea! I admire your ingenuity. How can this not count? The ashes and the black smoke that rise from them don't count, of course they do. Congratulations, brother, on winning first place."

Upon hearing this, Yu Xing exclaimed excitedly, "That's not fair! I should have won!"

Yu Shenxing glanced at Yu Xing with disdain and questioned, "You destroyed the wooden ball with wind blades, and he burned it with fire. They used the same method, so why doesn't it count?!"

This isn't the first time Yu Shenxing has disliked Yu Xing.

Not long after, Chen Ye humiliated him once again. Yu Shenxing felt that this virtuous brother was simply his lucky star, and he wanted to see Yu Shenxing jumping up and down in a panic.

Yu Xing didn't want to hear this. He felt that Yu Shenxing was clearly taking sides. How could cutting off sawdust and burning it to ash be considered the same thing? If the wood was burned to ash, it couldn't be considered wood at all.

"You guys are going too far!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye immediately flew into a rage and shouted, "Who exactly is going too far? Is your Mirage Sect such a sore loser? When Qin Ze and I fought on the arena, we both followed the rules; a loser is a loser. But you've used that as an excuse to harass me, repeatedly provoking me. Now you've accused me of using underhanded tactics. Is your Mirage Sect so domineering that all the benefits in the world must belong to you, and no one else can get a single thing?"

When Chen Ye spoke, his voice was like a great bell, echoing throughout the Dharma Assembly and clearly reaching everyone's ears.

This was a technique he had devised from the notes given to him by the Lord. By using the supernatural power of the Bronze Bell Hell, he could make Chen Ye's words deeply imprinted in the ears of others, not only clearly, but also with a brainwashing effect.

This was a technique used by the Demon Lord of Bewitching Minds back then—a method that utilizes sound.

The effect was quite good when used at this time, and everyone looked at Yu Xing with a hint of disdain.

The reputation of the five major sects was already quite bad, and Yu Xing had done many foolish things that offended people, making his reputation even worse. Chen Ye's shout aroused everyone's hatred.

Although Yu Xing didn't care about other people's goals at all, he did lose this time. Although he was unwilling to accept the defeat, Yunlu Immortal Sect was on Chen Ye's side, and the rules were set by others, so no matter how he argued, it was useless.

Yu Xing said excitedly, "Then I admit defeat this time, but I want to bet with you a second time!"

Chen Ye glanced at him and coldly uttered a single word.

"roll!"

(End of this chapter)